Premium content for only $0.99

High school buddies: Raiders quarterback Derek Carr’s top receiver goes way back with Vikings quarterback Teddy Bridgewater. Raiders rookie Amari Cooper and Bridgewater were teammates at Miami Northwestern Senior High School in 2010. They both became college stars and first-round draft picks. “He was the same way he is now,” Cooper said. “He was a really poised player. Really smart. He was just a phenomenal player in high school.”

Rookie wideouts: Cooper leads rookies with 45 catches for 653 yards, but the Vikings have a prolific rookie receiver of their own. Despite playing only five games, the Vikings’ Stefon Diggs, a fifth-round pick, is second with 461 yards on just 28 catches.

All-day Adrian: While much of the focus will be on the talented second-year quarterbacks, the Raiders will be most concerned about containing Adrian Peterson, who has four 100-yard rushing games and leads the league with 758 yards. The Raiders had been one of the stingiest run defenses before allowing DeAngelo Williams to run for 170 yards last week in a loss at Pittsburgh. “It still starts with Adrian Peterson,” Raiders coach Jack Del Rio said. “Very explosive player.”

Leaky secondary: The Raiders allowed a franchise-worst 597 yards last week to Pittsburgh, including 284 yards on 17 catches by receiver Antonio Brown. Oakland cornerbacks DJ Hayden and David Amerson struggled to keep up with Brown, who also broke numerous tackles. Oakland’s secondary should get a boost this week with safety Nate Allen set to return from a knee injury. TJ Carrie also missed last week with an injury and can return to his natural cornerback spot with Allen back. “A lot of what happened were self-inflicted wounds,” Carrie said. “Those are things we can correct and things that aren’t like us as a defense.”

Center of attention: The Raiders could be missing a key part of their offensive line with center Rodney Hudson nursing a sprained right ankle. Hudson is a major reason Carr has been sacked just eight times and the Raiders have scored at least 34 points the past three weeks. If Hudson can’t play, the Raiders might go with Tony Bergstrom, who has started one game in four years and had not played a single offensive snap since 2012 before replacing Hudson in the fourth quarter last week.

Read Next

The city of Oakland and the Raiders appear to be at an impasse over the NFL team playing at the Oakland-Alameda County Coliseum in 2019. Derek Carr added Fresno to the mix of possible 2019 homes for the Raiders.